Knitting-machine for narrow webs.



R. W. SCOTT 31 H. .SWINGLEHURST.

KNITTING MACHINE FOR APPLICATION FILED AUG. I2, 1912.

NARHowwEBs.

' Patented Aug. 14,1917.

a SHEETS-s111512.r

I RQMA II. w. scoTI a II. swINGLEIIuRsT.

Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

:I sIIEETal-SIIEET a.

I .as

A Z' fenA 'y .'I'II//nsres l I i m [m/enfo'rs I Ey@ mustn? ROBERT W.SCOTT, Of BOSTON, MASSACH COLLINGswooD, NEW

UsETTs, AND HARRY SWINGLEHUBST or JERSEY, AssIGnoEs, BY MEsNEAssxGNMENTs, To scoTT e WILLIAMS, INCOBORATED, A CORPORATION 0FMASSACHUSETTS, 5'

KNITTING-MACHINE FOR NARROW WEBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, l191'?.

Applicationvtled August 12, 1912. Serial No. 714,525, i

To all fufhonz 'it may concern.'

Be it known that we, RoiiERT W.' SCOTT, a citizen of the United States,and. resident of' i Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, and HARRY` SWINGLEHURST, a citizen of ythe United States,and resident of Collingswood, in the county of Camden and State oi' NewJersey, have invented a new and' useful 4Knitting-Mat-,hine for Narrow'ebs, of which the following is a specifieation.

Our invention relates to that class of 1knitting machines used for themanufacture of narrow' tubular "fabrics such as are employed largely inplace, of woven braids and tapes in the manufacture of underwear, andfor the making of fabric for gas mantles and the like, and'has for itsobject the simplificationV ofV such machines, to the end that they maybe built at a low cost, and capable Vof a high rate of production.

A11 object of our invention is to prov-ide a machine of "the 4characterStated capable of knitting fine gage webs'` at ahigh speed, forinstance' 'from4 1000 to 1500 courses per minute, withkdue regard `tothe safety of the mechanism in case of accidents to the needles or theweb, and further to provide for the simultaneoueoperation by the `eamedrive devices, indeliend'ently ber of knittingheads.

To these and tother ends oui` invention relates to the improved knittinginetr'nmentsfproper, of `which we will describe Vcertain.specifici-forms only and 4to the means for snpporting and operatingsaid-instruments, as pointed out in the ,ciairnsj' Lwithrespect to thegeneric invention illustratedxbyJ-the partie lilar n'iecl'ianisims`Selectedfor hillustra'tion, and -of which in theacc'or'npanying dra-winFigure 1 is a front elevation of. the rigit hand end of a trainecoinprising'a of knitting units, showin-g Sonie section;

Fig. Aa vertical cross-section of said parts in` frame atene of theknitting units,

flfig. is a vertical sectionon an enlarged scalethrongh one of theknitting heads and its supporting members',

Fig, 4 is an elevation of the earn cylinf of each other, ofanumplurality Fig 5 is a detail plan of the needle retaining ring;

Fig. 6 is a development of the inner sur-` vface of the cam ring;

Figi/(is a detail section on a radial plane of' the cam-cylinder; t Fig.8 is a'plan of a ing 'the yarnguide;

Fig. 9 is a'detail view'o vone of the webholders. y `4 A suitablecasting or table A is supported by end-frames B at a convenient height,to provide a frame or housing `for the working parts. i

At the rear of the frame or housing is mounted a inain shaft 1 carrying-fast and looee drive pulleys '2 and 3 and upon which are slidablymounted a series of driving wheels 4, each having clutch lugs 5, whichare capable of being thrown into and out of engagement with one of theclutch members 6 ,fast on shaft 1. Each of 'the drivingknit-ting headAshowi through the agency of which rotary` motion is'mparted tothe camring of the knitting head; f The gearing heretofore employed in drivingvthe head of a knitting machine is by this means avoided. i

Theknitting head, which is of very simplefand durable construction,consists o f the `needlecylinder 8, which also acts as a file for thereception ofthe cam ring 9, which has integrallyformed with it theeigtension 10 ca rrying.t-hel gro0ved wheel 11 Spinwheels 4 .cari'ie aquarter twist belt 7,

for the belt'7; The ioyver portion of the cylinder reduced 13 eitherright or left and ie threaded at "handed, depending upon the ydirectionof thev rotary motion of theca'rn ring, to take a hand-aint 14S havingan oil receiving channehl) in ite upper face.

The ,table- A is receseed as shown at 16 in Zand 3. is provided at thebottoni of eacl'i'iecess, having a central bose 18 ina bore"in which theneedle cylinder is seated, and against the upper machined face of whichshoulder of the cylindeigis tightly drawn by the nutli. Y

The cani ring is pri-:muted from riem by luge 19, 19 which are secure ifor a form a shoulder 12 An integral crogsebar 17- iop construction,eXceptwin this-instance it is' justment as by screws-20, to the part l0of the cam ring. These lugs have inturned feet which pass throughopenings 21 in the cam ring, and engage with an annular slot 22 formedin the needle cylinder as shown in Fig. 2.

Within the cam cylinder 9 an advancing or clearing cam 23 is seated.upon the shoulder 24 formed in said cam cylinder. The form, of thiscani, shown in Figs. 6 and 7, is such as to adapt it to be made fromsteel tubing from which the cam maybe cut by a milling operation, thenhardened, grou-nd and polished on its working face, and fitted withinthe recess provided for it. to the construction reliancemay be had onfriction only to hold it in place. The complete circular form of the camrin-g makes it capable of being made from tubing of a standard. sizerequiring no special fitting.

The stitch or draw cam 25 is of similar desirable to provide an openingfor the removal upwardly of broken needles, and

the annulus or tube section' from which the cam ismade is out throughlongitudinally 7 at 261er this purpose.

Extremexnicety of adjustmentv s desir-.

able in machines of this class, by which it is intended to produceata-high rate bries of small diameter' and fine gage: We provide forthis by the particular adjustment for the cam shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and7.

A vertical slot 27 is-milled in the Wall of the cam cylinder in which apin or screw l2.8 fast in the cam 25 has vertical freedom of movementwithout play in a horizontal sense. At a lower point in said'stitchcaln25 a headed and shouldered screw29, also movable freely in the slot 27,carries the upper end of link 30, the lower end of which surrounds theeccentric member 3l of .a stud 32 fitting in a bore 33 in the wall ofthe cam cylinder.' The eccentric member 3l is slotted to be adjusted bya screw driver. vBy loosenling the screw 29 a very'delicate adjustmentof the stitch vcam in avertical sense may be made and the adjustingmembers may beclamped without altering the 'adj ustlnent by tighteningsaidscrew 2S) against the link 3() and the wall of the caln'cylinder,which may beflattened at this point, as at 34, tol

lgive a better holding surface.

The needles of this machine are, rela-` Owing "upon Working downopposite the annulus 51 tivelyv free, typically Working Withoutsufficient friction in their grooves to support them against gravity. Inorder to retain them in their grooves, we provide a circumferentialgroove 40 in the needlecylinder above the top of the cam cylinder, thebottom of which is substantially of the same diameter as the outer faceof the shanks ot' the circle of needles 50. ln said groove, resting uponthe shoulder' formed by the walls of the deeper needlegrooves, beneathand held down by the flange 42, which is penetrated by the needlegrooves, we provide a retaining ring 41 which is split diametrically andhinged at 45. Said ring is provided withl a spring latch 43 having a'nger grip 44, to enable it to be released to open the ring upon itsdiameter when it is necessary to remove or insert a needle. p Theneedle-cylinder 8v is grooved for the needles only on its upper half,leaving the portion 464an unbroken cylinder, except for the bearinggroove 22,.

Beneath the vshoulder 24 upon which the advancing cam -rests we providethe cam cylinder with an annular groove 51, and through the walll ofsaid cylinder communieating with said groove we provideat least oneopening 52. P'l`he bottoms of the needle grooves which are milled in theneedle-cylinder, slope outwardly in thelregion of the annular opening51, so that an obstruction such as a broken needle 'or a mass vof lintaccumulating in the needle grooves will be thrown out into said annulusand ultimately out through 'the opening 52, owing tio the air'blast setup by the rotation ofthe cylinder 9, within which the Walls of theneedle grooves behave as stationary vanes. When the cylinder 9 isrotated at the-speedsA adopted this structure has a marked effect as afan. T o this end to increase the effectof theair blast to clear theannulus 51, we

may slope the `opening 52 so as to Amake it 11`0 tangential to theannular 'space 51 and point- .ing in the direction of rotation, as shownin Fig.'4. The cam cylinder is further provided with a-liange 54 ofsuflicient size to cover the 115 opening 1G in the machine table A. Thisflange serves as 'a hand 'Wheel to manually move the cam v,cylinder foradjustment, and may be utilized to\counterbalance any eccentricallydisposed weights found to be dis- Vtributed about the cameylinder, as bymilling out portions as at in Fig. 3 lto restore balance.

We find 1n' practice, however, that the long tubular needle cylinder 8is sufficiently vre-'12`5fv silient to permit high speeds ot' theelements rotating upon it even' when they are not in perfect balance,the cylinder" 8 deforining under them-centric strain and taking acentral position with respect to the nutating 130 lift the pulley l0suflieiently from bo especiall)y at the portion lo ol the bore in.

to set the lues 1f) to to permit a .small degree of rocking motion of thcani o rl i nder.

In pre.

the earn cylinder l0, and

sting machines of small diameter, a lthough. so tar as we are awarethere has been no attempt to drive them at the :needs n'hieh` we find inyn'attiee our maoliine rapable ot' attaining, great diiliculty has beenexl'ifiariented in preventing; the knit web from rising upon the upward.movefment of the needles to clear their latches.

Reliance has been had upon weighted take- VIn the' ease of a presso dueto the `breaking;` of the yarn it is very difficult, on aooount of thesmall. diameter', to run a piece of fabric upon the .needles to startthe machine. XVe avoid these difficulties by the provieion of stationaryivebdiolders 56 havingain nlgnvard grooved bevel 5T and a notchtlidefining an annular groove, tl1e external Vdiameter of Which is Closeto the internal di ter of the backs of the needles. 11i-this ame poe`ion,`the noses 59 of the Web-holders serve upon the down draft of they,needles to draw oil or sink suil'ieient yarn bet/Ween the needleswhieh arestniplied by the yarn guide 60 attaelied to the earn cylinder)to form the ,stitches The use of the Structure mentioned 'permits theold or last formed eoure to bemore promptl)y knocked over the heads ofthe needles upon the passage of the tops of the `needles below theknockingover line determined by the bottom ot' the noteli 58 than wouldotherwise be the ease.

` This "ect due to the fact that the new loop drawn tl'irough the oldloop at the verge or top of the needle cylinder from Yarn which hasalready been meaeu red oli' I the noses of `the iveb-holdt.

rmratirely l leteljv or partially, by

A The penetrating' i'rnwen'ient ol the needle hook with to the oldlooptakes platre tl'iereitore vlle hook is eharged with eorn yarn and thestrain muon tl' old loop, when it i5 penetrated by the new loop, is tothat; extent leseened, lilir this "in the down (lr-"fatt of the needleswhen i elders` of the torni shown are provided teraleney than underother eir- 'to maintain the last course knit i ita'fnll liameter. Theeilelift of nn to clear the laet course knit aineter defined by the so`that the next ad- .t' the needles takes place jpneriously knitetuifrse.

and sunk, either leom 'ioiiigi'noren'ient" outside. ola' the .f whichthe it 'contributing advantage of this structure lies in the partialindependence ot the length oi the stitehes 'from the downwm'd stroke ofthe needles.. The noses 3.) ot' the sinkers having; drawn nearlir enoughyarn for the stitch, the accidental failure to adjust the earn 2:5 totake the needles an additional distance to complete a stitch ot' thelength desired does not prt-vent knitting, but merely results in afahr-ie of the maximum stillness for which the dinn-ensions of `thenoses were adjusted.

vFor most of the uses of the fabric, as for bindings, pipings, Casings,ete., it is liattened `lex'lgthnise and creased in this position, beforeit is sewed or fastened in place. .We have found that it isfimportant togire the fabric its permanent form after it knit and before extensivefolds or creases are impressed in it at the wrongr ioint, and to thisend We ha Ve provided a take-np mechanism of ordinary construction shownas comprising the rolls T0, the worm and, worin wlieel 71. and T2respectively, ley 73 mounted upon the swinging arm T4. As shown in Figs.l and 2 a )arate meehanism of this Character is provided for each headon the frame. A longitudinal. strut 80 on said trarne Carries, foradjustment by the screws 82, a series of arms 81, on which the framesHof the take-up devices are pivoted at T5. The usual counterbalanee 76provided for the take-11 i which is operated by tightening andSlaokening the belts 77 operated by the grooved pulleys 78, each on asleeve eonnexzted to a clutch pulley 4.

The eieet of the take-up rolls 70, whicharey counter-balanced as tomaintain a very li glit draft upon the forming tubes lof fabric, is tomash or {lattenthe tubes longitudinally, the line of fold coming upontei-tain needle Walesdiametrically opposite each other.

In some eases when using hard, springy yarns, such as silk andartificial sillnl of fabric is often eonnmsed, it desirable' to retainthe folded condition of the web until it is used, and `we thereforeprovide the reels 9U upon which the fabric is Wound under tension afterpassing the take-up. The reels 9 f are mounted on one sqnared end ofshorshafts 91 carried by arms 83 pivoted on the strut 80. Spring latchestake against the end v of the srplared bore inthe hub portion ofthereels to remm'al'ily lateh themv in place. W'hen full a reel mayberemoved and taken, without nnwinding ita contents, to a sewing maehineor the like eni'ploying it in the Inanufacture of garments? Fast on theother end of the shaft 91 there is a grooved pulley 93 operation of thereels issimilar to that of 96 for the reels 90. The

the take-ups, the friction belt 94 slipping' upon one or the other ofthese pulleys as the 'tension on the winding fabric lifts the arms 83.

It will be noticed that the take-up elements of the knitting heads as-Well as the drive wheel 4 ai'e clutched and unclutchedA from the driveshaft 1 by the same clutchI mechanism 5 and 6. A shipper lever 100pivoted at 105 on', the underside of the table A and having at its otherend a pin taking in the groove 104 of theY sleeve carrying the wheels 4,78 and 95 under the tension spring .106 tends to maintain said clutchmembers in their open position. A seiies of latches A101 on the front ofthe table A having lugs* upon the cord 107 and release the clutch,

' stopping the movement of that knittinghead, its take-up and wind-ingmechanism, without affecting the operation of the remaining heads.

The yarn supply is from cops, cones, or bobbins 109 conveniently restingupon pins on the rear of the table A from which the yarn extendsupwardly through bores in the overhead guides 110, which are slipportedby T-standards at the ends of the machine frame.

Ve find it unnecessary to provide any,

stop-motion actuated upon the breakage` of the yarn or the jamming of a.needle since in the one case the release of the fabric stops the headand in the other case the small niass of the rotating parts permits thedriving belt to slip without damage to the head.

lt is important to prevent the splashing of oil from one head on thefabric from the neighboring heads. In addition to the channel 15, tocollect waste oil, webprovide shoulders 112 on the cross-bar 17, totake. drops of oil from the lower face of the pulley 11,.befoi'e theyare `freed and thrown olf centrifugally. The oil `collected by theshoulders 112 flows down the surfaces of the cross-bar 17 and into thechannel 15,

Having described our invention what we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is l. In a knitting machine, a rotary cani element, andmeans to support it for rota"- tion about an axis variable in responseto its mass and speed.

2. -In a knittingr machine a fixed needle cylinder of a height greatlyin excess of its diameter, grooves in said cylinder, needles in saidgrooves, annular bearing surfaces formed on said cylinder, a camcylinder 'loosely surrounding said needle cylinder having needle camsthereon, and adjustable .lugs entering between said bearing surfaces,

and a flexible friction belt for rotating said cam cylinder at highspeeds.

3. In a knitting machine, a vertical needle cylinder of a height greatlyin excess of its diameter, whereby said cylinder is laterally resilient,a fixed mounting for the lower end` of the said cylinder. and a rotarycani-cylinder freely surrounding said needle cylinder and having abearingthereon above its fixed portion, whereby said cam-cylinder iscapable of rotation at high speeds about-an axis of rotation out ofcoincidence with` its axis of figure.

4. In a knitting machine, alongitudinally grooved needle-cylinder andindependent needles therein, a cani-cylinder supported 'by the needlecylinder and means for adjusting the longitudinal position of the camsiicylinder, fixed web-holders having noses within `the external diameterof the needles, I

and notches beneath said noses, an advancing cani, a stitch am and meansfor adpisting thfe .stitch-cani longitudinally of the cam- 5. In aknitting machine, a carrier `and independently movable needles therein,Ya cani carrier and cams foracting on the needles, comprising a camhaving a guide pin working in a. slot in said cam carrier, a stud insaid cam-carrier having an eccentric part,` a link surrounding at oneend said eccell-y tric part, and a screw in said eani having a bearingin the other end of said link.

(i. In a knitting machine, a machine table presenting a circularopeninff, a cross-bar dianietrical of said opening and beneath it, a

needle-cylinder mounted centrally upon thecross-bai', and a canicylinder mounted for rotation on the needle cylinder having aldrive-'pulley thereon beneath the, said table.

7. In a knitting machine. a machine table presenting a circular opening,a cross-bar diainetrical of'said opening and beneath it, ancedleazylindcr mounted centrally upon the cross-bar, and acain-cylindi.\r mounted for rotation on the n\eed,lecylinder having adrive-pulley thereon beneath the plane of said table, and a circular`flange above said table covering said circular opening.

h'. In a multiple head'knitting machine, a frame for supporting theparts, relatively plane of ixcd needle cylinders, rotary cani cylindersi cach having a bearing on one of said needle cylinders, a drive pulleyon the lower part of each cam cyliiuler, andan oil wiping shoulder on apart of the frame near the periphery of each pulley.

0. In a knitting inachine, a frame for .supporting the parts,` arelatively fixed needlecylinder having a shoulder and threaded losmanioc lower end in a bore in the' frime, urotay' cam-cylinder having a.bearing on said 110e-r (lle-Cylinder,

a' drive mechanism for said egim-cylinder, and a nut to hold theneedlefl cylinder seated having :in annular oil-pocket viny its upperface.

10. In a knitting inachine, a needlevcylinf der hving grooves termmatingin slopes to un unbroken"surface, in combination with s, l0 cam cylindersurrounding the needle cylinder. said cam-cylinder having, oppositel thebottoms of the grooves, an annular recess to r'eceive broken pn rts 0rlint from the grooves, I and an openll'xg from the outside of saidcylinqer communiating'lwith said annular w 15 cesa".

In ybespmony" whereof we have sixed our. names inA they presence of thesu cribing Witnesees.

ROBERT W. SCCTT. l i HARRY SWINGLEHURST. Witnesses for Scott:

ALBERT Et PAGE, WALTER LARKIN.

VWitnesses for Swinglehurst: s

CHARLES H. BREAITHWMTE,

J. H. BOND.

